JeanRichard emerges from the shadows

Focus on design sees the company forge separate identity to big sister Girard-Perregaux

JeanRichard has taken a long time to emerge from the shadows, perceived (understandably) as a diffusion range, an “affordable” Girard-Perregaux. The company was always meant to have its own identity and its own style, but the realities of the industry and the retail world conspired to hold JeanRichard back. But it seems that the break has finally been made, through a combination of good design and a really strong marketing push: JeanRichard sponsors the possibly unique combination of both the Spectator’s Cigar Smoker of the Year Awards and the University Boat Race. JeanRichard takes an equally eclectic approach in finding brand ambassadors ranging from James Blunt to Captain Chesney Sullenberger, the pilot famous for landing his stricken airliner safely in the Hudson river.

But the design is the interesting bit and there’s evidence of sharp and clever thinking in the new collections launched over the last year, the watches having acquired a new coherence and a credibility that was simply absent before. You might expect that is a much harder task when the aim is to produce watches that look and feel good without costing the earth, than when money is no object. However, it is one of the oddities of watch design that constraint is more often a spur to success than a barrier. A look at the higher echelons of the market shows very clearly that complete economic freedom is not always the best gift for a design team.

The Terrascope is the watch that best captures what has happened with design at JeanRichard: there’s a clear resemblance to previous collections, but with a simplified and more even decorative scheme – the detail is less fussy and the colour schemes are bolder. One of the first versions launched is a silver dialled bracelet watch that benefits from clearer lines matched to a still-distinctive shape. And even in quite strong colours, the design works. It has a cushion case with contrasting finishes which means the 44mm diameter is not quite as imposing as might otherwise be the case, particularly as it is relatively slim at 12.6mm. And if you think there’s a touch of Gerald Genta’s designs for the Nautilus and the Royal Oak you would be right, and the Terrascope is all the better for it.